Brexit: Legally Effective Alternatives

In his recent speeches, the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has softened his stance on the need for Treaty change to accommodate his renegotiation of the terms of British membership of the European Union. Nonetheless, there is no doubt that the demands set out in Mr. Cameron’s 10 November 2015 letter to President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, will still present considerable legal problems if they are to be accommodated.

This new IIEA paper by Paul Gallagher, S.C., former Attorney General of Ireland, presents a comprehensive examination of the feasibility in legal terms of the British demands. Mr. Gallagher argues that legal structures already exist which can provide the necessary legal means to address the British demands – if the necessary political agreement can be obtained.

Paul Gallagher was the Attorney General of Ireland from June 2007 until March 2011. He is a Senior Counsel and has practised at the Irish Bar for 34 years. He is a Bencher of the King’s Inns in Dublin and was formerly Vice Chairman of the Irish Bar Council. He was a nominee of Ireland to the Arbitration and Conciliation Panels of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at University College Dublin and a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers. He has degrees in Law, History and Economics.